A Tale of Two Birthday Cakes

It's March, which means almost everybody I know is having a birthday at the same time. Case in point: both my nieces turned a year older in the past 2 weeks and their party was yesterday. I took the opportunity to flex my cake skills. Not perfect, but they tasted delicious and everyone seemed to like them. The theme, if you can't tell, was Cinderelly herself. The little one got her very own cake to smash and cover herself with. See below for results.

Since I had to drive them across town, I did the base layer of frosting at my house, then decorated them more fully upon arrival. I think I was most excited about getting to thread the ribbon through the cake platter that someone gave me for my wedding. Its the little things.

As you can see, the inside of the cakes was pink; fit for any princess. Watching the baby poke at her cake was probably my favorite part. At least I don't have to make another cake until November, so I have some time to hone my skills a little more. I learned a valuable lesson this time about frosting with buttercream in a warm apartment. Won't be doing that again!

Here was my recipe for the icing:

Ingredients:

2 sticks room temp butter

3 C powdered sugar

1 tsp Vanilla

1 tsp milk or cream

food coloring

Instructions:

1. Combine butter and sugar with electric mixer on low speed until fully integrated. Raise speed to high and beat for 3 minutes.

2. Add vanilla, and cream; beat until fully incorporated. Add food coloring and use!

Tips: Frost the cakes with a "crumb" layer and then store in the freezer for 15-20 minutes between coats. Leave it in the freezer for 45-60 minutes before trying to drive said cake across town. :)

Orange Vanilla Pound Cake

In an effort to contribute something valuable to last weekend's superbowl party, I wanted to make some sort of cake. This turned out pretty good - but it was a little smaller than I expected. I'll definitely tweak to add more orange flavor next time, but the tanginess of the yogurt was surprisingly (and deliciously) notable.

Ingredients:

1 c. butter, softened
1 1/2 c. sugar
3 eggs
2 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. grated orange rind
1 tsp. vanilla
8 oz. vanilla yogurt
Powdered sugar icing (powdered sugar, vanilla, and orange juice)

Instructions:

1. Cream butter; gradually add sugar, beating until mixture is light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

2. Combine flour, soda, and salt. Add to creamed mixture, mixing well. Stir lemon rind, vanilla and yogurt into batter.

3. Pour batter into a greased 10-inch Bundt pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour (or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean). Cool in pan 15 minutes; remove and cool completely on rack. Sprinkle with icing as desired.

Flourless Chocolate Cake

Okay, I rarely make something that makes me want to really toot my own horn, but this one is a winner. I am one of those people who loves really, really chocolaty desserts. This is definitely one of those. It's super dense, and perfect for sharing, which is why I'm making it for a pot luck. Give it a try! Fair warning: it is NOT low calorie! :)

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 18 (1 ounce) squares bittersweet chocolate
• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 6 eggs

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Grease one 10 inch round cake pan and set aside.
2. In a small saucepan over medium heat combine the water, salt and sugar. Stir until completely dissolved and set aside.
3. Either in the top half of a double boiler or in a microwave oven melt the bittersweet chocolate. Pour the chocolate into the bowl of an electric mixer.
4. Cut the butter into pieces and beat the butter into the chocolate, 1 piece at a time. Beat in the hot sugar-water. Slowly beat in the eggs, one at a time.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Have a pan larger than the cake pan ready, put the cake pan in the larger pan and fill the pan with boiling water halfway up the sides of the cake pan.
6. Bake cake in the water bath at 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) for 45 minutes. The center will still look wet. Chill cake overnight in the pan. To unmold, dip the bottom of the cake pan in hot water for 10 seconds and invert onto a serving plate.